VIRTUAL EXHIBITION NOW ON VIEW

THE EPHEMERAL AND THE SACRED SELF
attributes and affirmations of eight black women

Dallas, Texas–BLACK AUGUST 2020 Constance Y. White presents an original body of work featuring hand-cut and glued (analog) collage with mixed media scrolls as couplets derived from personal interviews with seven different women. (The artist counted herself in the process bringing the number of participants to eight.)

In this moment of ‘social distancing’ with the hyper-focus on public health and global protests against systemic racism, White re-oriented her methodology from in-person gatherings to remote one-to-one intimate conversations – intentionally centering Black Women.  This pivot also gave way to the artist focusing more on the metaphysical aspects of self.

“As a Black Woman, I felt strongly compelled to listen, record and elevate the unique and sublime characteristics of these Black Women.  Pre-Covid, we would have met in-person to form a circle of support; to share – to heal. In lieu of an in-person gathering, I called each women separately. Highlighting our isolation, our interactions were lo-tech and over the phone. Each conversation was prompted by a set of questions designed around this moment (2020) and individual ideas about self: self-care, self-love, and self-power.  The process resulted in a duo of works created about each woman: one collage and one literary (scroll) work together as the unseen and underrepresented expressions and experiences of each unique Black Woman.”

“Constance Y. White was born in Dallas and lived much of her formative years with her family, in the Piney Woods of rural East Texas. She is a graduate of the Meadows School of Art which led her to becoming the first Public Art Coordinator for the City of Dallas. After nine years, she went on to launch a comprehensive arts program at San Diego International Airport. She returned to her home in Dallas after eight years there. As an arts administrator, Constance has worked with both public and private organizations in Texas, DC, Southern California, Alabama and the Carolinas.”